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3.17.1.0RC1 on NBE‑M5‑19

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w8awt
w8awt's picture
3.17.1.0RC1 on NBE‑M5‑19
I have a NanoBeam M5 19 that I would like to install 3.17.1.0RC1 on. Could someone please run me through the steps needed to install AREDN on this device starting from AirOS? Are there any AirOS downgrades or other tests that must be done before installing 3.17.1.0RC1 from AirOS?

Thanks and 73!,
Augustine
W8AWT
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
W8AWT,
W8AWT,

If you follow the steps at the bottom of this post, you can't go wrong:
https://www.aredn.org/content/guidelines-load-aredn-firmware-and-not-bri...

Note, 3.17.1.0RC1 will no longer 'brick' a device if you attempt to load it on any of the supported devices with any combination of AirOS.    The most likely error you would receive (in ether a tftp upload or from AirOS UI upload) is a firmware check  or similiar error.   It simply won't allow the firmware to be loaded.   In the worse case, it attempts to load 3.17.1.0RC1, but the device doesn't boot or can't save settings.  The AirOS firmware can still be tftp'd back to the device to start over.

You can attempt to short-cut the 3 step process  (https://www.aredn.org/content/guidelines-load-aredn-firmware-and-not-bri...) by only performing steps 2 and 3.   This may work with some combinations of AirOS and U-boot versions on the device (it won't work on the latest AirOS versions released).  If it doesn't succeed--see the prior paragraph.  

Tip1:  after changing the IP address on your computer, I find it often necessary to unplug the laptop's cat5 cable for ~10 seconds, then plug back in.  This ensures the new settings take effect.
Tip2:  after loading AirOS via tftp,   I find it takes up to a couple of minutes from boot before the device can be accessed from the browser at http://192.168.1.20 .  There have been a few times I keep trying to tftp load AirOS thinking it had failed, but I was not patient enough to access form the browser (and I try tip1 again).

Joe AE6XE
N1JPA
ethernet bugfix reverted?
I picked up a NBE-M5-19 as well for a few bucks (lucky find!) and was able to get 3.17 loaded onto it ok, but then started running into what turned out to be the ethernet port bug. I tried switching to the latest nightly build but that made it worse, and then I noticed the changelog is showing the OpenWRT ticket 19085 bugfix was reverted? Why was it reverted, and where can I get an earlier nightly build to try with that has the bugfix in place?
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
N1JPA,  the 3.17.1.0RC1
N1JPA,  the 3.17.1.0RC1 images have a fix for OpenWRT ticket 19085 that we had tested working for the NBE-M5-19.   But what we missed is that this fix broke tplink devices. Thus it has been reverted.  There is a better fix and between Darryl and I, we've tested this to work on NBE-M5-19 and tplinks successfully, but it is still in queue to get into a nightly build.     

There is another issue, I'm wonder if you had encountered.  Did you have any RF links to other neighbors with the NBE-M5-19 running 3.17.1.0RC1?    If not, then the node will at some point become unresponsive, hours maybe days.  Insure it has an RF link to a neighbor and we do not see these symptoms.

Joe AE6XE 
N1JPA
I hadn't setup any links with
I hadn't setup any links with it yet, I was first just trying to see if I could even get it setup with the firmware. It was sort of strange in that after the initial setup with the firmware it would take a few minutes or more before it'd drop the ethernet connection, but after doing the basic setup it would drop the connection within seconds. Granted, it could just be faulty (I picked it up from a thrift store) but I've pulled it open and checked with a thermal camera and didn't see any heat issues, and the wifi seems to be fine, it's just the ethernet. I have a serial adapter hooked up to it at this point so I can maintain control and insight to it, and I'm not seeing any other issues with it.

One thing I might try is reverting it back to the Ubiquiti firmware and see if it's still having the same issue. I didn't really give it very long once I got into it the first time before I started messing with firmware.
AE6XE
AE6XE's picture
It does seem more likely
It does seem more likely something else is going on.   The symptoms with OpenWRT ticket 19085 would show in hours to days.  I reproduced it dozens of times and never once occurred in minutes.   

Joe AE6XE
KG6JEI
Which flaw are you referring
Which flaw are you referring to? 

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